Los Angeles, Calif., Mar 4, 2009 / 23:20 pm
Archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has banned Society of St. Pius X Bishop Richard Williamson from entering any Catholic church, school or facility of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles until he retracts his remarks minimizing Jewish suffering in the Holocaust.
The announcement came in a statement published online in the March 6 edition of The Tidings, the diocesan newspaper. The cardinal authored the statement jointly with Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, the U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee, and Seth Brysk, Los Angeles Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee.
Bishop Williamson was one of four bishops leading the breakaway Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) whose excommunications were lifted by Pope Benedict XVI in January.
Footage from a television interview showed the bishop denying the existence of Nazi gas chambers and claiming only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews had died at the hands of the Nazis, causing an international uproar.